The existing standard hospital gown has traditionally comprised a one-piece, sleeved gown with a gap in the back which is closed by metal snaps or cloth ties. These standard hospital gowns have presented problems to the patients wearing them as well as to the hospital personnel dealing with the gowns. Given the design of the standard hospital gown, the patient's back side is not adequately covered. For the ambulatory patient and for the out-patient undergoing, for example, an X-ray, this standard gown is immodest, and patients may feel that modesty requires use of an additional robe to adequately cover themselves. In hospital maternity wards, this standard gown interferes with nursing mothers' ease of breast-feeding their newborns, since the standard gown is connected at the patient's back.
For the hospital staff, the standard hospital gown presents several problems. Since the gown is closed across the patient's back, the patient's frontal chest area is not readily accessible: the standard gown presents an obstacle to examination, the attachment of emergency cardiac equipment or accessing subclavian lines. The structure of the standard gown requires that the patient's arms be pulled out through the gown's sleeves when the gown is removed for changing: this presents a problem for the patient receiving intravenous treatment through one or both arms, for the gown cannot be easily removed while the intravenous bottle is connected to the patient's arm. Standard gowns using metal snaps for closure may present problems when used with diagnostic equipment such as X-ray, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Cat-scan equipment, for the metal snaps may interfere with the equipment. The standard hospital gown's problems have existed for decades without a meaningful solution.
The gown of the present invention provides a solution to these problems. It provides easy, quick access to the wearer's chest for examination and emergency treatment. It adequately covers the patient on all sides, without leaving any gaps of exposure. It can be removed from the patient and replaced with a clean gown without disturbing intravenous arm connections. It allows for discreet breast feeding for nursing mothers. It does not employ metal snaps which interfere with hospital equipment.